Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Conspiração Do Violino

This.. is a really hard book for me to rate.

I loved the MC. He has great character development from the time he’s a kid to the time he's an adult at the end of the book. The relationship he had with his grandma was so beautiful. Hearing his grandma’s writing at the end of the story and everything Ray’s great great grandfather went through was heartrending.

I wish the book had started at the beginning of Ray’s life as opposed to when the violin was stolen because it really took the momentum away from the first half of the story. A little taken aback that every evil/bad character was described as ugly and/or fat. Also, I wish the title had been something else because “Violin Conspiracy” makes the book sound a lot more action packed than it is. The first two thirds of the story focus on Ray’s family and his experience in the classical world. The action comes much later.

Also, I wish his girlfriend’s betrayal had been hinted at more before it was revealed at the end. And I’m surprised Ray pushed for the maximum sentence for her. Confused on how her betrayal is supposed to fit in with the themes presented in the rest of the book. Is the message just that you can’t trust anybody?

Also, Ray listing “dating a supermodel” as one of his accomplishments at the end of the book was cheesy and kinda gross tbh.

TW for the G slur for Romani people. It’s used several times in the book.

So, yeah. I loved Ray as a character. And I appreciated all I learned in this book about classical music and the prejudices toward Black classical musicians. But I didn’t like the ending, and I wish the book had been structured differently. And there were some parts that rubbed me the wrong way. Very mixed bag.

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heidi_may91's review against another edition

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inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Overall I really enjoyed the book, related to some of the main character's struggles and felt the pacing matched the story however I felt one character lacked history, and the last section felt a bit rushed. I think this book is well suited for Book Clubs or Buddy read, with its' clear sections, themes around racism, perseverance, and music alongside the available spotify playlist and the many poignant quotes throughout.

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noicky's review against another edition

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informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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honeywaffles's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

An intriguing story. Sometimes the characterization of the foibles the protagonist encountered seemed cartoonishly villain. The racism was quite overt. I think it would have been interesting to unpack more of the micro aggressions he experienced, but I also admire his perseverance to overcome them and defy expectations. The protagonist’s dedication to his craft and effort to open doors for other musicians, especially POC, was inspiring. The mystery about who stole the violin seemed pretty obvious throughout the book, to the point of distraction about why that wasn’t investigated.

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disguisedposer's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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dominiq_ec's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I LOVED this book, despite how re-traumatizing it is to read as a Black person. On that front, i strongly recommend readers be careful with that book.

Also, the only reason it’s not getting 5 stars is because it uses the term/slur “g*psy” a handful of times. I’m unsure if this is an acceptable term to use when describing classical music and/or its methods, but because it was never explained in-depth, it reflected poorly on the author and publishing company

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language_loving_amateur's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

The tension was higher than I expected, but very good and the book kept me on my toes.

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zanlaughlin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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